In the head-to-head format, the top 12 athletes in individual events were seeded according to their rankings and paired based on their seeding. Each will choose three dives to perform, and the lower scorer in each pairing will be eliminated. In the semifinals, the remaining six divers were divided into two groups, with the top two from each group advancing to the final.

Men's 3m Springboard| Wang Zongyuan edges teammate Zheng Jiuyuan for gold in intense new format showdown

In the head-to-head format, two Chinese divers Wang Zongyuan, and Zheng Jiuyuan, together with British Olympic champion Jack Laugher defeated their opponents in Group 1. At the same time, Jordan Christopher Houlden from Britain,  Luis Felipe Uribe Bermudez of Colombia and Moritz Wesemann of Germany qualified for the semifinals.

In the semifinals, divers completed their rest three dives as top-ranked Wang and fourth seed Zheng placed top two spots with 530.55 and 487.15 points, leaving  Laugher 481.10 outside of the final though his result was higher than the other two final qualifiers, No. 3 ranked Uribe Bermudez 433.60 and Wesemann 422.75 in another group. Second seed Jordan Houlden of Britain, winner of the event in the second stop World Cup in Windsor, Canada, was eliminated from this stage due to a failed 307C.

"The head-to-head format is very fast-paced and captivating. However, I am sad because my score beat everybody in the other group, but I didn't make it to the finals. I'm really happy I did a good performance, but I would have loved to be in the final and fight the medals," said fifth-ranked Laugher, who captured one gold, one silver, two bronzes from 3m springboard synchro and individual events from the last three Olympics since 2016.

Divers returned to their usual pace and dive order by performing six dives in the final, in which Zheng produced a day-high 96.90 for his fifth dive 109C before Wang did the same score on the same dive for his last attempt.

Wang, two-time 3m springboard synchro champion and two-time silver medalist in individual events at the last two Olympic Games, clinched the title in 519.25, beating Zheng into second 505.05. Wesemann and Uribe Bermude came next at 430.45 and 418.20, respectively.

"The new format pushed us to enter our peak form from the very beginning, and I started rather high in the first two sessions. In fact, I  lost some energy in the final, especially in my 207C, which only received 77.40, "said the 23-year-old Wang.

For Zheng, 21, celebrated his first 500+ point performance in a world-level competition. "I have never reached 500+ in the competition before, I felt excited even after the whole competition. The new format gave me more uncertainty and pressure, and I laughed at myself for my poor first dive 407c with 68 points in the morning," Zheng said. 

"It's a lot of fun and exhausting. It seems like all about consistency. You don't have to do perfect dives， but you have to do everything consistently. My strategy usually is to have consistent dives at the beginning and then very hard dives at the end where you can score a lot of points," Wesemann said.

"On the other hand, it's a little bit unfair to split into two groups depending on your draw; you might have a harder group to make it to the final; someone like Jack Laugher, who had an awesome performance, didn't make it, " add the sixth-seeded Wesemann.

Women's 10m Platform | Chen Yuxi holds firm under pressure to edge Quan Hongchan for 10m platform gold

The atmosphere became extremely hot, with their names echoing and banners waiving on the stand before Chinese Olympic champions Quan Hongchan and Chen Yuxi started the stage of the women's 10m platform competition.

Top seed Chen led in Group 1 with Alejandra Estudillo Torres of Mexico and Sarah Jodoin di Maria of Italy. At the same time, Quan spearheaded her part together with Andrea Spendolini Sirieix of Britain and Ellie Cole of Australia in the head-to-head sessions.

Chen continued her consistency by finishing 432.15 from head-to-head and semifinals while Quan had a big splash in 207C for a poor 57.75, totaling 399.25 into the final.

In the 10m platform showdown, Chen showed her calmness and accuracy, winning in 431.25. Quan came second in 409.80 due to minor mistakes in her 6243D and 207C. Estudillo Torres took the bronze medal with 332.70 and Spendolini Sirieix fourth with 324.80.

"I have never tried before like this -- three big battles within two days from 10m synchro, mixed team and today's individual event. I felt faint at last and wordless right now. It is a huge challenge facing the new competition format, especially to learn how to relax and adjust myself in between. I tried hard to focus on my dives and am super satisfied with my performance," Chen said.

For Quan Hongchan, a silver medal is the best reward for her self-discipline against growth pains. "The total time of individual competition was within one hour, including the head-to-head, semifinal and final. I felt out of energy a little bit because I am still learning how to balance my growing height and weight. A silver is good for me," said the double winner on the women's 10m platform from the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games.

"Today is my day! I'm so happy about this result, but I know I need to do better and work harder. Paola Espinosa, the 2009 world champion, is my idol, and I watched her competition on TV when I was a kid. I hope I can get closer to her achievement someday," said Estudillo Torres, who will turn 20 on 20 May.

On Deck | Day 3 of the Diving World Cup - Super Final

The Super Final will conclude after Sunday's women's 3m springboard and men's 10m platform finals.